


Babysitting

by victimofmywoes



Category: Naruto
Genre: Family, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Multi, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28132761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victimofmywoes/pseuds/victimofmywoes
Summary: One day, a two-year-old with an inexperienced Sasuke for a babysitter. Really, how much damage could a two-year-old do?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Babysitting

**Author's Note:**

> Babysitting
> 
> Summary: One day, a two-year-old with an inexperienced Sasuke for a babysitter. Really, how much damage could a two-year-old do? Fluff, Family, Slight Romance
> 
> Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

Babysitting

Summary: One day, a two-year-old with an inexperienced Sasuke for a babysitter. Really, how much damage could a two-year-old do?

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

“Sakura I-”

“Sasuke please?” Sakura’s voice turned a shade more pleading.

“Sakura you know I can’t do it and Naruto is-” he began.

“-Not here, I know.” Sakura said hastily.

“And he won’t-” Sasuke tried again but grew interrupted.

“-Be here till tonight. Yes Sasuke, I know that too!” Sakura said quickly in a frantic tone now.

“Listen Sasuke,” Sakura began in a calm voice when Sasuke stayed silent over the phone longer than necessary. “Lee and I just have to go there, you know? It’s all so sudden but Lee’s boss will be there and we just can’t afford to miss it!” Sakura tried to show Sasuke reason.

“But why me?” Sasuke asked agitatedly.

“Because Dai-chan likes you!” Sakura spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh?” Sasuke said in disbelief. Apparently, it was beyond his grasp to understand that someone - in this equation - a two-year-old, could possibly like him.

“Anyway,” Sakura emphasized, “I tried asking everyone else. Ino had a date with Chouji, Sai is out of station on a business trip just like Naruto, Shikamaru has to go to the doctor with Temari and the Hyuuga’s are all busy with Tenten in tow, so that leaves you…” she trailed off awkwardly.

“There’s always Kiba…” Sasuke trailed off, picking up the first name that came to mind.

Sakura snorted rudely. “Now really Sasuke!” she said, “My Daisuke has a higher IQ than that mutt!” she mocked.

Sasuke huffed, defeated.

“I have work too,” Sasuke spoke almost defensively.

“Oh please! I’m sure the world of crime thrillers can wait a day. Look Sasuke I promise Daisuke will be at his best behavior. Besides he’s just a kid who likes you. Please?” Sakura leaned against the kitchen counter and clutched the phone all the more tightly in her hand.

“What about Kakashi?” Sasuke asked now fighting a lost battle but refusing to surrender, yet.

“Kakashi?” Sakura sounded incredulous. “Do you want really think Kakashi could babysit Dai?” No, he couldn’t. He shuddered at the thought of what Dai would become in that pervert’s company. But desperate times called for desperate measures and Sasuke was a desperate man who was willing to do anything to get this babysitting job off his hands.

“He’s better than Jiraiya at least,” he muttered and immediately bit his tongue when Sakura let out an explosive sigh.

Finally, when Sakura did not speak for about twenty seconds, he relented. “Alright I’ll do it. But only for six hours, not a second more!”

“Oh, I love you Sasuke! You’re a lifesaver!” Sakura gushed over the phone now relieved beyond thought. “I will bring him over right away! I owe you one!”

“Hn.” Sasuke rubbed his forehead.

Daisuke was two. Really how much damage could a two-year-old really do?

* * *

“Remember he likes his milk with cookies soaked in it. Oh, and he loves ramen and candy. Oh yes, definitely candy!” Sakura repeated for the umpteenth time in ten minutes, nodding fervently. “Oh and this bag contains his milk bottle, change of clothes, diapers, should you ever need them, wet tissues and his toys.” Sakura handed him a pink bag with a picture of a teddy bear on it. “Also when you give him milk, first test the heat at the back of your hand and then -”

“I got it, I got it!” Sasuke lifted his hands in understanding.

“I’m sorry I’m just nervous. It’s the first time I’m leaving him alone like this.” Sakura rubbed her forehead agitatedly and smiled a little nervously.

“He’ll tell you if he needs to use the bathroom. He isn’t exactly potty-trained so you might have to assist him,” Sakura added a little sheepishly as she watched her son race around Sasuke’s apartment with his jet-black hair bouncing up and down.

Sasuke resisted the urge to click his tongue in annoyance. He didn’t know how well he would be able to handle any kid, let alone a product of Lee’s and Sakura’s love. He sighed in exasperation, “Okay.”

Sakura came forward to hug Sasuke just as Lee honked the car horn. “I must go now.” she turned to pick up her purse. “Oh and by the way, how do I look?” she asked straightening her pale-blue dress and smoothing down her red hair. She did a little pirouette to show Sasuke her outfit.

Personally, Sasuke wouldn’t care much if Sakura was wearing straws but he nodded anyway and managed a small smile. “Okay, go now.”

Sakura bent down and kissed Daisuke. “Be good now and Uncle Sasuke here will take care of you.” She told her son who just stared back dumbly at his mother, his finger in his mouth.

“I’ll see you at eight then.” Sakura said as she half walked, half ran out with her fancy high-heeled pumps. How women managed to walk in those was a mystery to Sasuke. He walked up to Daisuke and absently thought about what to do with the kid when suddenly the little one looked around a couple of times and upon not seeing his mother, began to wail loudly.

Immediately Sasuke leaned down to inquire what was wrong.

“I want mommy- I want mommy,” little Dai upped the volume of his wails making Sasuke grit his teeth.

He was completely at loss on how to quiet a kid.

“Your mom will be here soon,” he finally said in an awkward voice patting Dai’s head.

If only you were here Naruto…

* * *

“Can I play with the toy gun?” Daisuke asked as he picked up Naruto’s gun. Sasuke sighed in agitation. It had taken over twenty minutes to get the kid to stop crying. And then it had hit Sasuke to bring out Dai’s favorite toy - his giraffe plushie to distract him.

“No.” Sasuke took the gun from him and placed it back on the glass shelf. Inasmuch as he wanted peace, the gun was important to Naruto and also an essential part of Naruto’s game collection. He picked up Dai’s giraffe and handed it to the kid.

“Can we play this?” Daisuke asked as he spotted the electric guitar of the PlayStation and moved towards it throwing away his toy, too fascinated by the new toys he was seeing.

“No,” Sasuke said exasperatedly as he snatched the guitar before Dai could reach it and placed it on a higher shelf.

“Why? I want it.” Daisuke sounded mad as he jutted out his plump bottom lip to form a pout, his green eyes filling up with tears. Sasuke assumed this was a trick the child often employed with his parents. His lip trembled when it didn’t work on Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance.

“You’re too small to play with it.” Sasuke said almost rudely as he ushered the boy towards the kitchen.

“Can we go to the park?” Daisuke asked as he was picked up and placed on one of the kitchen chairs.

“Later.” Sasuke sighed and went to fix himself a glass of water. He originally planned to spend the day lazing in bed with Naruto’s pillow and thoughts of him...er...thinking about the plot line for his next novel. But now that he had to babysit Daisuke, he couldn’t help but regret at how this day was going to waste.

“I wanna go now. No?” Daisuke wanted to know.

“Because it is too hot now.” Sasuke spoke through gritted teeth and then took a long gulp of his water.  
He really needed to be patient right now.

Daisuke sat in silence for a few moments before wriggling off his chair and falling in the process.

Immediately, his loud cries filled the apartment and Sasuke awkwardly lifted him up.

“Stop crying,” he awkwardly patted the dark head and placed Dai back on the same chair. He made what he assumed were calming sounds but to no avail. Daisuke just wouldn’t stop crying.

What do I do to calm him down? Sasuke stifled the urge to scream in frustration and curse his fate but he didn’t wish to scare the little child further. He had half a mind to give him Naruto’s toy gun, but the reluctance held him back.

And then he remembered them!

Moving quickly towards the kitchen cabinet, he opened it and almost squawked with happiness, almost.  
Seated right behind Naruto’s miso-flavored ramen was a pack of the man’s favorite strawberry-flavored candy. Quickly Sasuke pulled it out and tore open the packet; Daisuke’s cries getting louder and louder by the minute.

He pulled one out and quickly opened the sweet while walking towards Dai. “Here, eat a candy,” he said holding his palm out with the pink treat.

Emerald green eyes went impossibly wide and the crying ceased at once when those eyes landed on the candy in Sasuke’s palm. Daisuke crept forward with his hand outstretched with the dried tears still evident on the chubby cheeks and snot dangled disgustingly.

Sasuke waited with bated breath as Daisuke finally reached out for the candy in his hand. It was as if time had stopped as one of those tiny hands picked up the candy while the other clutched Sasuke’s knee for balance and then retreated with the candy clutched like a prize and the green eyes shone. And then a second later, the candy was popped into the mouth and for the first time since Daisuke had come to Sasuke’s apartment, Sasuke heard him giggle.

He could do it! Realization dawned on Sasuke slowly. He could actually pull this shit off! Despite the fact that very little time had passed, he could do this! Didn’t he just make Daisuke giggle?

That’s where the happy bubble burst. Daisuke’s soft chew toffee ended and he began wailing again, louder than ever.

“Mommy, I want Mommy,” Sasuke sighed as he sluggishly pulled the baby closer and tried to calm him down. The only response he got was the increase in the volume of Daisuke’s cries and the slight hitch of Dai’s breath.

Sasuke cursed himself for his complete inability to do this. He ran a quick hand through his hair and the child took that moment to race away from the kitchen apparently in search for his mother.

It took Sasuke five complete minutes to find Daisuke only to see him seated peacefully on the marble foyer, chewing absentmindedly on one of Naruto’s orange slippers.

Disgusted, Sasuke snatched the partly bitten slipper and offered Daisuke a hand to take so that they could walk to Sasuke’s study.

Deprived of his chew toy, Daisuke pouted and looked almost in tears and it took all of Sasuke’s energy not to clobber the boy up or use his trademark glare on him at least. Much to his pleasant surprise, Daisuke acquiesced quietly as he stood up and walked with Sasuke to the study. Sasuke figured he was just curious about the place. Sasuke deposited him on one of the low leather stools as he went to look for some paper and crayons for the child. He knew kids were fond of doing stuff like this and if nothing, it would help keep Daisuke distracted for some time.

Finally, managing to locate some paper and a box of crayons he didn’t know existed under his roof till that moment, he walked back to find Daisuke on the floor, his face red with exertion as he applied pressure of sorts. Sasuke just stared at him in confusion till Daisuke saw him, stopped exerting pressure and began muttering something like “potty”. Instinctively Sasuke bent down to pick him up when he caught the whiff. Anger - white hot - ran up and down his body in currents and he could swear he saw red when realization hit. No matter what happened, no matter how much Daisuke whined, pleaded or cried, he could live with it. He could stand it, he could endure it. But this...this atrocity...how was he supposed to deal with this child’s poop?

“Dai-chan likes you!” Sakura’s words floated in his mind and he shook his head in utter disbelief. What part of this indicated that Daisuke liked him? He made a mental note to chide Sakura on her vicious lie later. He pinched the space between his eyes in exhaustion and looked down to find Daisuke lifting his arms, completely immune to the death glare Sasuke was shooting him. And that did nothing than adding fuel to the already incensed fire burning inside him. He huffed and covered his face with his hands to scream in them silently. He didn’t know what it was that he’d done to deserve this fate. He took a moment to think about all that could have warranted for such fate leaving the child still exerting pressure and muttering potty.

He thought back about that time when he was five years old and had nicked a couple of coins from his brother’s pocket to buy that candy Naruto wanted so much. Could the stealing have brought upon this karma? No, no, that couldn’t have been it. Was it because he’d refused to give candy to those kids who rang his doorbell for trick or treat on Halloween? No, that couldn’t have been the reason either. Was it because he’d tortured Naruto endlessly last night without letting him come as he sucked him? He shuddered at the thought of being punished for that. Surely, the gods wouldn’t be so stupid to take that into account. Could they? Could they really have…

He looked down at Daisuke who’d gone back to applying more pressure, his face red with exertion. Once again, he covered his face with his hands and braced himself for the inevitable. Yes, he, Uchiha Sasuke, bestselling author of more than twenty crime novels was going to have to do the unthinkable. He was going to change a baby’s diaper.

He picked the wailing baby up who was pooping and now crying simultaneously by his fingers as best he could as he made his way out of the study. The stink was making him nauseous but somehow, he managed to make his way to the toilet without dropping the kid. Placing the kid on the wash basin counter, he heaved a deep breath and fought the urge to throw up or worse surrender to the murderous urge to throw Daisuke somewhere. Leaving him there with a meek “I’ll be back with your stuff. Don’t you dare move,” he ran to the living room to pick up the bag Sakura had left.

Once he retrieved the bag, he ran back to the toilet to find Daisuke still seated where he was but now with Naruto’s toothbrush in his mouth, chewing on it enthusiastically, oblivious to the mess he’d made in his pants. Honestly, this kid had some weird fascination with Naruto’s stuff. Sasuke pulled out the toothbrush from Daisuke’s mouth to find the pout which Sasuke learnt was the baby’s signature look. But he didn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, he squared his shoulders, pulled the baby close and began to undo the button of Daisuke’s blue shorts.

Once the shorts were pulled out and away, a new problem arose. Sasuke realized he had absolutely no clue on how to change a diaper. He stared at the white plastic thing and then kneeled down to pull out a fresh diaper from the bag. Once he took it out, he examined it closely. Teddy bears and arrows adorned the thing and still nowhere it gave instructions on how to put it on. He tried yanking the diaper down as one would an underwear but Daisuke’s protesting shriek and a kick to his face, made him abort the mission right then. He scratched his head in irritation as his mind raced. He needed help and he needed it now.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts thinking about the perfect person to call for the job. His obvious choice had been Sakura or Lee but he knew at that moment neither was available. When it came to changing diapers, Naruto’s or Itachi’s knowledge would also be limited, so he scrapped them out of the list. He could call his Mother but he remembered that she had an appointment at her spa, which meant she would have turned off her phone. He called his Father only to hear the man’s booming laughter and a “How about trying to open it?” When he made a sarcastic remark about not knowing how to open, his father just returned it with, “I don’t know either. Mikoto always did it for you and Itachi.” Sasuke hung up, fuming with anger when his father resumed his laughter.

Next on his list was Shikamaru. The man was a genius and would definitely know how shit like this worked. But Shikamaru was a taking his very pregnant wife Temari to the doctor and the chances of him answering his phone were next to nil. Fuck that, Sasuke was sure Shikamaru had set his phone to voicemail. Sure enough, when the robotic voice of the woman spoke up, he actually smirked to himself.

Frustrated he went back to staring at his phone. Daisuke’s wails were reaching the roof, but how could he help the kid when he didn’t even know how to take the damned thing off? So, he thought of calling Kiba but cancelled last minute but decided against it when he took Kiba’s IQ into consideration. Hinata would’ve worked better, if only he had her number. But then again, having your love rival’s number (even though she was now married to dog face) was pointless in Sasuke’s book, so he never took it. A fact he was beginning to regret right that second as another bout of stench hit his nostrils.

Neji – he shuddered at the mere idea of making the call to that man and quickly moved back to check his contact list.

Ino would be of little assistance given how the only thing she did was coo and profess her undying love for Sasuke; so Sasuke ruled her out. He was still scrolling when he saw Gaara’s number. Gaara was a father of two. Surely, he could help. And since Sasuke had little choice in the matter when Dai let out an extremely loud cry, he hit the icon for call.

He sighed, relieved when Gaara picked up after the third ring. “Sasuke,” his voice sounded cold and flat, like it always did.

Sasuke took another breath and started his request with, “I need your help.”

Gaara laughed. It was cold and humorless. “Did you forget Naruto’s birthday again?”

Sasuke grit his teeth. He’d forgotten that if Kiba was an asshole, Gaara was the ringleader. “No Gaara. Not everything is about Naruto.”

“Then I’m not interested,” came the cool reply causing Sasuke’s eyes to narrow. But he had something more urgent on his plate.

“Just please listen!” Sasuke couldn’t believe how helpless his voice sounded. “I need you to help me change a diaper.”

The shocked ‘what’ gave Sasuke some satisfaction. On principle, Gaara never displayed emotions. He explained the situation quickly about Sakura and Lee and their troublesome two-year-old that was now making an attempt to escape or at least crawl across the counter. Sasuke quickly grabbed him back by the collar of his shirt and gave him the stern look. Daisuke relented with a particularly ear-splitting cry.

“This is really urgent,” Sasuke cried, tears of frustration filling his eyes but he blinked them away. This had to be the worst day of his life.

Gaara let out a breath. “Start with opening the diaper.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “No shit Sherlock. I wouldn’t be here, making small talk with you had I known how it opened, right?”

“The thing that’s keeping the two ends together...the tapes...open them.” For someone as short-tempered and cold as Gaara, he sounded awfully patient.

“Hold on a sec,” Sasuke said placing his phone next to the basin after hitting the speaker icon and bending down to examine the white monstrosity around Dai’s ass. Something which wasn’t easy because now Dai had started fighting with strength Sasuke did not know two-year-old possessed. When he finally managed to locate the tape on the right, he peeled it off quickly, before looking for the one on the left. Once he was done peeling both the ends, he pulled the front of the diaper down hastily, only to regret his decision.

“Are you alright?” Gaara’s asked on the phone as Sasuke made gagging and choking sounds.

“Tell me what to do next,” his voice sounded hoarse and nasally as he pinched his nose with his fingers to ward off the offending smell.

“Trash it, obviously.” Gaara sounded highly amused and it pricked Sasuke’s ire to no end.

He was still making up his mind on getting to the removing bit when Daisuke squirmed out of his diaper and kicked it to the floor. The squelching wet sound that erupted when the diaper went face down on Sasuke’s slipper was the end of the straw.

Sasuke just had enough time to lift the lid and then he was emptying the contents of his breakfast in the toilet, regardless of the mess on his slippers. Once he was done, he wiped his mouth with the toilet paper and flushed. Then, in the most surreal fashion imaginable, he looked down at his now poop smeared slippers. The scream that erupted from him couldn’t have been stopped even if he wanted to. This was no longer horror. This was torture...in its purest form.

Gaara’s laugh hit Sasuke’s ears like a cannon and snapped him out of his stupor. He threw off his slippers and grabbed the toilet paper rolling the paper around his hand till the paper ran out and then he picked up the diaper and trashed it. All this in a matter of seconds. Then he proceeded to present his wrath upon the little monster that was now lying happily on the counter, his bottom making wet sounds as it made contact with the black marble.

“Wash him,” Gaara said his voice devoid of any humor, almost surgical in its approach.

“What?” Sasuke sounded menacing which worked on Daisuke who just lay quietly on the counter watching Sasuke like he was some kind of a predator.

“Wash him…at the sink,” Gaara repeated after a while, his voice losing some of that confidence it was exuding earlier. “Just...um...just put his bottom under the tap and…” Gaara cleared his throat and Sasuke guessed the worst was yet to come. “Wash him with your hands.”

No, no, no, no, no. Sasuke was not doing this. Sasuke could not do this. Sasuke wasn’t the type of person who did stuff like this. He was a bestselling author with a million followers and lovers. But above that he was an Uchiha. Uchihas did not wash poop with their hands. It was unheard of. It was unthinkable…it was…

“I can’t do it.” He sounded weak and dead to his own ears.

“Well wipe him then,” Gaara replied obviously misunderstanding Sasuke’s predicament.

“I can’t do it!” He screamed at the phone and then looked into Dai’s green eyes. “I can’t clean your ass. Fuck it! I won’t clean your ass. You can wash your own ass or wipe it or do whatever the fuck you want with it, but I want it clean. You understand? You understand me, Daisuke? Uncle Sasuke is not going to wash or wipe that dirty bottom.”

He breathed hard and then closed his eyes when the inevitable sound of Daisuke’s crying started again.

“Calm down, calm down,” Gaara made some cooing sounds which apparently calmed the child because he stopped crying. This caused Sasuke to look at his phone for a second with pure amazement. Gaara had managed to shut this crying machine up. Now maybe, maybe he could coax Daisuke into cleaning his own ass!

“Sasuke?” Gaara asked when Sasuke just stared at his phone amazed by Gaara’s power over little kids.

“Can you convince him to clean his mess?” Sasuke asked, his voice filled with all the wonder he was feeling for his friend.

“What the fuck? He’s two, Sasuke! Of course, he can’t clean his own ass!” Gaara’s voice sounded incredulous and it managed to bring Sasuke down from the mountain of reverence for Gaara. He looked down at Daisuke who sat petrified at the counter watching Sasuke with fearful eyes and then thought about the best plan of action. He could just grab a fresh diaper and tape Daisuke’s dirty ass in it, but the smell was beginning to bring fresh tears to Sasuke’s eyes again. He rolled his eyes heavenward and decided to do the unthinkable.

“Fine, I’ll do it!” Sasuke relented. Pulling out a fresh roll of toilet paper from one of the cabinets, he once again started rolling the paper around his hand till he had a good quantity of it wrapped around his hands. Gently, almost methodically he turned Daisuke around and began wiping him. He tried not to gag and choke at the sight and smell but he managed to clean the little boy as quickly as he could. He put the kid on the other side of the counter and wiped the litter on the counter as best as he could.

Once he was done, he asked, “I’m done cleaning. What next?”

“Is the diaper one of those magic pants?”

What? Magic pants? What the fuck were those?

“What in the world are magic pants?” Sasuke asked exhausted.

“You know those that are worn like underwear?” When he didn’t get a reply, he continued, “Probably not. Never mind, forget it,” he sounded more like he was mumbling to himself but Sasuke was tired with this ordeal to the extent that he didn’t bother pointing that out.

Gaara seemed to recover after a moment. “Now you pull out a fresh diaper and spread it.” That he could do. Sasuke nodded, understanding what Gaara was talking about.

Honestly, Gaara should have made this his career. The guy was a pro with babies. Sasuke’s admiration for this man with baby skills was once again skyrocketing by the second. Sasuke studied the diaper he’d initially pulled out from the bag; this time with less irritation. He pulled it open and spread it out. “Okay done. Now?” he asked. He followed the instructions that Gaara meted out while Daisuke busied himself with Naruto’s toothbrush. It took him a couple of attempts but Daisuke’s butt was powdered and wrapped in another white contraption in a couple of minutes.

After he washed his hands frantically, he picked up his phone and turned off the speaker. Lifting it to his ear he muttered the much-deserved thanks on the phone which caused Gaara to snort and hang up in a typical Gaara fashion.

Then he proceeded to pick the now clean Daisuke up from the counter and take him back to his study. He was going to have to find some way to get rid of the smell in the room. He placed Daisuke where he’d left the child earlier with the paper and the crayons. This time the child sat quietly as he picked up a blue crayon and just mindlessly began drawing random patterns on the paper. Sasuke stood quietly beside him to ensure that he wouldn’t put the crayons in his mouth but a couple of minutes later, Dai lost interest in drawing. His hand was moving towards his mouth with the crayon when Sasuke saw it. He quickly removed the crayon from tiny hands causing Daisuke to burst into tears. Exasperated, Sasuke cast a swift glance around to see if he could find some toy to appease the child. But before he could come up with a solution, but Dai was faster. He found a box of building blocks in a corner. The box was used as a prop for one of Naruto’s earlier ad projects. Sasuke thanked his lucky stars as Dai got busy trying to stack the blocks on top of each other. He quietly moved to open the windows to let fresh air in. Then he picked up the book he’d been reading previously and made his way back to the leather couch beside the stool. Five minutes later, he joined Daisuke who was busy cooing and cawing with his blocks in his endeavor to build whatever a two-year-old could.

Sasuke had to admit, there was a certain charm in playing assistant to Daisuke as he passed a red block to the child. He smiled as he took in the child’s tiny hands grabbing the blocks. Daisuke’s tiny pink tongue peeked out from a corner as he concentrated hard on deciding where to put what block. Sasuke pointed to an appropriate place but Daisuke shook his head and ignored him completely. Sasuke chuckled when he stubbornly put it on top of a green block. The kid must really like that color, Sasuke thought, for the first set of blocks that Dai picked up were green and now all the blocks he was placing were on top of the green ones.

Seeing Daisuke busy with his project. He once again opened his book to the page he’d last read and was lost in matter of seconds in the world of intriguing politics and corruption, the scribbling sounds and rustling of clothes and paper serving as background noise. Silence jarred him out of the fictional world. He looked at the time, surprised that an hour had passed and then his thoughts fell on the boy who was now fast asleep on the paper, clutching an orange crayon in his fist. Unconsciously a smile formed on his face as he studied the features of the child who’d taken him for a turn.

His eyes were closed tightly, his fists bunched, a string of drool connecting his cheek with the paper but Sasuke was surprised when he found himself thinking of the picture as – adorable not icky.

He lifted the child and at once Daisuke moved in closer to Sasuke’s heat, burying his face in Sasuke’s solid chest and mumbling some nonsensical things Sasuke did not dwell on. He opened and closed his mouth a few times and Sasuke realized the cause. He laid the child gently on the couch, covered him with a blanket and went to heat some milk. Recalling Sakura’s instructions, he heated the milk and then tested the heat against the back of his hand. Once he deemed it appropriate for Daisuke, he brought the bottle and placed it in the little mouth. At once, the child began sucking on the milk. Sasuke lay down beside the kid, still holding the bottle and proceeded to feed the child. His gaze softened when his eyes went to the tiny hands balled into tight fists, resting idly against a face that looked cherubic...almost cute. For the first time since Dai entered the house, Sasuke didn’t mind the intrusion. In fact, now that he looked back at it, the prospect of having a child in the house didn’t seem all that bad. He ran his little finger over chubby cheeks and that button chin.

Once Daisuke was done drinking his milk, Sasuke placed the bottle on the table and placed Daisuke on his chest so that he could be warmer and more comfortable. He closed his eyes and imagined a life which involved Naruto and him and a baby. Sunny days with laughter and sunshine came to mind as visions of a happy Naruto cooing over their baby swarmed his head. He must have fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes next, darkness had fallen. He moved to get up and found that his index finger was grabbed tightly in a baby fist. His mother had once told him that children bunched their hands into fists because they were selfish and greedy for love. That’s why they wanted to grab it in their little hands and never let it go. Looking down at Dai’s hand he smirked, his mother’s words making sense.

Gently, he disentangled his hand with a small smile and as carefully as he could, he got up and placed the baby on the couch again. He turned on a lamp and stretched languorously. His gaze landed on his phone where the notification light was blinking. He quickly checked it to balk at the number of missed calls on his phone from Sakura.

He moved out to the living room and called her back. “Sasuke thank god you picked up!” Sakura sounded relieved causing Sasuke to snort on the phone. Like he was going to abduct her little one or something!

“Are you done with your work?” Sasuke asked.

“Oh yes, we’re on our way back.” Sakura spoke hurriedly. There was a pause for a heartbeat and then she asked, “Is everything okay? Did…Daisuke do anything?”

Sasuke thought for a second about the million and one things that Daisuke did which pissed him off to no end. “Relax Sakura, he’s sleeping. He was as quiet as a mouse the entire day.” Sasuke replied.

Sakura’s breath of relief caused Sasuke to chuckle. “Thank god! I was worried he’d touched some of your things or worse pooped his pants,” she gushed causing Sasuke to smirk on the phone.

“Hn. How long will you take?” Sasuke asked.

He heard some muttering on the phone and then Sakura said, “We’ll be there in about forty-five minutes. Will that be okay?”

Sasuke peeped back in his room where Dai was still sleeping peacefully. “Take your time,” he said and hung up before Sakura could start with her thanks.

He went to the kitchen to make some tea. Just as he was setting the kettle on the stove to boil, he realized his feet were bare against the marble of the kitchen floor. He looked down and remembered his slippers. But remembering his slippers caused him to remember the state of his slippers. His mouth tightened in disgust and he decided that getting it over with now would be better than pushing it for later. Besides procrastinating this would only worsen the smell in the bathroom. So, reluctantly he dragged his feet to the bathroom, disposed his slippers in the dustbin, turned on the electric air freshener and made his way back to the kitchen just in time to hear the kettle start whistling.

Thinking that it would wake the child up, he quickly pulled it off the stove and made himself his favorite cup of Earl Grey. Normally, he would have taken the teacup to his study to enjoy while he perused over his reference material for his next novel, but because there was Daisuke sleeping on his couch, he took his cup to the living room.

He turned on the television and winced when the volume sounded extremely high in the quiet of the room. Quickly muting the dammed idiot box, he went about channel surfing before settling on Discovery where they were showing some famous temples of the country. Visiting temples wasn’t really his cup of tea but the scenic beauty and the amazing number of visitors captured his attention. Next up was the Daimyo’s house and he almost gasped at the sheer space the house occupied. The writer in him was already beginning to devise a plot of a murder mystery in the house when the intercom buzzed.

He saw Sakura’s worried face staring at the camera and he quickly went to open the door. Sakura and Lee hurried in and Sasuke followed politely, instinctively understanding their concern for Daisuke. She dashed to the living room and then turned to Sasuke confused, who only pointed towards his study. Sakura immediately ran to the study, with Lee at her heel.

He followed the frantic parents to the study to hear Sakura’s sharp intake of breath, Lee’s gasp of surprise as they watched Daisuke sleeping innocently. He chose to stand by the door thinking that it would be too intrusive of him to step in. Sakura grabbed Lee’s hand and tugged it, her eyes full of adoration as Lee’s head bobbed enthusiastically, mirroring her emotion. Daisuke stirred then. His hands shook and immediately both his parents kneeled by the sofa and began to coo at the baby. Sleepy green eyes opened and locked on Lee’s and focused for the fraction of a second as recognition hit and Dai made some incoherent noise as he held out his arms to be lifted.

Lee picked up his baby with infinitesimal care and smiled at his son who gurgled happily before exclaiming, “Papa!”

Sasuke’s insides warmed at the expressions that were running across both the parents’ faces. In his mind. He could see Naruto lifting their baby with that exact expression on his face. He felt a lump forming in his throat and he had to clear his throat to get rid of it. This broke the magic between child and parents as both Lee and Sakura turned to Sasuke. Sakura smiled in wholesome goodness at Sasuke and Sasuke found himself smiling back.

He walked up to them and peered at Daisuke huddled in his father’s arms. When his green eyes landed on Sasuke, he gurgled something as his arms lifted and Sasuke knew it even before Sakura began explaining to him that Dai wanted Sasuke to hold him. He lifted the baby from Lee’s arms gently, listening closely to Lee as he explained how to hold the baby. Once Dai settled into Sasuke’s arms, he giggled. Sasuke’s breath hitched as he stared in wonder at the child and then smiled back, relaxing slightly. That is, till, Dai grabbed a lock of Sasuke’s hair and yanked it.

Sasuke winced and glared at Sakura who gasped in happiness and put her hand on Sasuke’s arm. “See, he likes you!” she exclaimed happily.

Sasuke’s reaction was a disbelieving snort.

* * *

Naruto found a smiling Sasuke sitting in front of his laptop, wearing his thick glasses and sipping on some wine while staring into space.

“Did something good happen?” Naruto inquired, taking off his coat and removing his tie.

Sasuke shook his head as he put down his wine glass and removed his glasses. He carefully folded them and turned his head to kiss Naruto who was now seated next to him on the floor. “How was your day?” he asked.

Naruto raised his eyebrow at the question and smirked. “That’s what I should be asking you!” he returned.

Sasuke let out a deep breath and picked up his wine glass for a sip. He swirled his glass, trying to find words that defined this day. The epiphany that came after Daisuke’s departure was hard to put into words. “Interesting,” he responded, at last.

That earned him a surprised chuckle from Naruto. Naruto had expected a lot of replies to that question, but this was a curve ball. “How so?”

Sasuke smiled and didn’t answer, choosing instead to take a sip of his wine. Naruto tugged on his black sweater impatiently. “Tell me!”

Sasuke licked his lips, distracting Naruto for a second but when he spoke, Naruto’s focus was back in a snap. “You know how I’ve always thought children are troublesome, right? Well, I’m not saying they’re not, but they have their own…charms.”

Naruto watched him with a mystic smile playing around his lips. “Did something happen with Daisuke?” he asked, keeping his tone light. His heart thudded madly in his chest with the onset of where this was going but he didn’t want to press.

Sasuke shook his head and chuckled. “Ask me, what he didn’t do! He was all over the house! He cried, he bawled, he chewed your slipper, he chewed your toothbrush! He pooped his pants and made more noise than my sane brain could take! But once you gave him something he wanted or listened to him, he was…he was… so quiet and everything was so much…fun!”

Naruto was absorbing everything like a sponge, taking in the way Sasuke’s expressions changed from the slight nose crinkle at the displeasure he felt and then switching to awe and finally settling on pleasure as he talked about Daisuke. His heart swelled with so much feeling, he wanted to do nothing more than grab Sasuke in a bear hug but he held it in. With Sasuke it was always about patience and baby steps.

“So, you know, seeing Daisuke made me think…of course not now, but some time in the future…and of course if it’s okay with you…we could…I mean, it’s just a thought…but if you wanted and the timing and the situation is right, would you…could we…maybe think of adopting a child?” Sasuke knew he was jumping the gun given he’d only ever experienced it once, but seeing Naruto’s smile which was widening by the second and the knowledge that Naruto really liked children, he really wanted this to work.

Naruto finally let out a happy yell and taking Sasuke’s wine glass with one hand, he grabbed Sasuke with the other and hugged him hard. Sasuke sniggered but returned Naruto’s hug by putting his own arms around the blond man. “I would love to Sasuke!”

Sasuke scratched the tip of his nose in embarrassment once Naruto let him go. They grinned at each other like silly kids and then Naruto took a sip of Sasuke’s wine. “There is one thing I’m curious though,” he spoke, after a moment.

Sasuke, who was putting on his glasses, stopped and frowned at Naruto. “Yes?” he asked.

Naruto put down the glass and licked his lips before moving closer to Sasuke till he was a hairs breadth away and said, “This baby project, does it have to be later?”

Sasuke frowned, distracted by the small smirk at the corner of Naruto’s mouth and the glint in his eye. “What?” he asked.  
“I mean, can’t we do it now?” he asked, snaking a hand into Sasuke’s hair and rubbing his scalp sensually.

Sasuke snorted but bent his head to kiss Naruto. “Sasuke,” Naruto spoke huskily when they broke the kiss and pushed Sasuke backward till he was lying down on the rug. He climbed on top of Sasuke and proceeded to lower his lips to Sasuke’s neck where his pulse was now beating erratically. “We are going to make a baby now!”

Sasuke responded with a throaty moan against Naruto’s ear.

* * *

Sasuke bent down and scooped up Daisuke who put his hand in his mouth and then on Sasuke’s cheek. Sasuke flinched at the wetness but didn’t put down the child who was cooing happily.

Over the past month and a half, he’d done his set of research regarding baby contingencies like changing diapers, so Sasuke was fairly confident he had this babysitting trip in the bag. But Sakura was starting on her instructions on baby care, so he just rolled his eyes and told her to stop. But his tone was light and teasing and so Sakura didn’t take his words to heart. Instead, she stood beside him to clicked her fingers at her son.

“Dai-chan, this is Uncle Sasuke. Say, Uncle Sasuke,” Sakura spoke in a baby voice to her son. Daisuke muttered something and then proceeded to bury his hand in Sasuke’s hair now. Sakura giggled happily causing Sasuke to roll his eyes. For all he knew, Daisuke could have said, “Go to hell” and Sakura would still have giggled and applauded like the mother she was.

“Sasuke, thank you so much for agreeing to take care of Dai-chan! Sakura said as she smiled and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“It’s no problem Sakura! Dai-chan likes me, right?” he smirked at his friend who laughed and nodded. Her eyes softened remarkably when they landed on her son and Sasuke knew another load of “thank you” was coming. He put down Daisuke to turn Sakura towards the front door of his apartment to send her away for her date with Lee.

At the door, Sakura turned around and thanked Sasuke once again who sighed exasperatedly and nodded. “Go now or you’ll be late for the movie!” he said, pushing back his navy-blue cashmere sweater to show her the time on his wristwatch.

Sakura started for a second but then she glanced around and on not seeing Dai in the drawing room, she looked beseechingly at Sasuke. “Can I say goodbye to Daisuke one last time?” she asked.

It didn’t really matter to Sasuke so he just shrugged and stepped aside to let her go. She hurried inside and calling out Daisuke’s name, went from one room to the other, only to shriek in shock. It didn’t take Sasuke more than ten seconds to get to his bedroom only to cringe in shock when he saw Daisuke squirming out of his panicked mother’s grasp and reaching for the bedside table where an assortment of various adult toys was laid out in display.

Oh shit!

Immediately, he opened a drawer and with one sweep of his hand, threw all the toys inside the drawer just as Daisuke broke free of Sakura’s hold and she rounded on Sasuke, fire burning in her mint green eyes.

“Would you like to explain to me the reason as to why your…your…sleazy sex life is out on your bedside table for the whole world to see? That too in the presence of a child?” she shook her head, “especially in the presence of a child!” It was on the tip of Sasuke’s tongue to say that it was pure coincidence but Sakura was now shaking him so violently that he was afraid his head was going to be snapped off.

Finally, he pulled himself together and grabbed Sakura by her arms to stop her just as Dai began wailing in the background, clutching the corner of a pillow. “Mama!” he cried sobbing some more and then extended his hands towards his mother who finally let Sasuke go to grab him and give Sasuke some relief.

Immediately, Sasuke began apologizing. “I’m so sorry, Sakura! I was too careless! I promise I’ll be careful next time!”

Sakura shushed her baby to silence as she glared daggers at Sasuke. “You better be careful!” she huffed in anger but gave Dai to Sasuke when he raised his arms for the child.

“Go now! There’s no time!” Sasuke said just as Lee honked the car horn from outside. Sakura looked like there was more she wanted to say but she rushed to the door with Sasuke at her heels. Sakura was agitatedly putting on her shoes when Sasuke casually lifted Daisuke’s left hand and waved at Sakura. “Goodbye Mommy,” he said mocking a baby’s voice, causing Sakura to let out a giggle, anger forgotten. “Enjoy your date,” he said, dropping the baby tone and Daisuke’s arm simultaneously.

Sakura smiled at them before waving them goodbye.

Once she was out of the apartment, Sasuke turned with a armful of Daisuke and murmured to the little boy whose right hand was finger deep in his mouth, “So Daisuke, what shall we do today?” he asked and laughed when the baby in his arms muttered something incoherent and laid his head on Sasuke’s shoulder.

Sasuke couldn’t help turning his head to place a kiss on top of the little child’s head.

* * *

The End


End file.
